I really like how the papers are conducted here. The curriculum in all my papers somehow ties itself to New Zealand/Maori history or connections. My psychology class has assigned readings that relate the concepts we're learning in class to Maori beliefs or "Maori psychology." Obviously, our Te Reo Maori class teaches about Maori language and customs. My education paper talks a lot about education in New Zealand and a lot of the readings were published here in NZ. The same goes for my anthropology class. My professor lectures about different ethnographies from all over the Pacific and beyond, and ties them back to New Zealand/Maori history and culture. It's really interesting! One of our readings was written by Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa entitled "Native Land and Foreign Desires." It talked about the Mahele and analyzed it from a Hawaiian perspective. I felt so proud of my culture knowing that I probably knew a lot more than most of the people in my class. Yet, it was good to see they were all interested. My professor had a HARD time pronouncing words and she misused a few hua, but I didn't correct her.
Everyone here is so interested in the Hawaiian culture. Logan found that in his Te Reo Maori tutorial, the Maori students were so interested in learning about the relationships between Maori words and Hawaiian words. For example, aloha is aroha; hale is whale; kapu is tapu. As we were learning about the names of the Maori atua, he taught them the names of the Hawaiian akua, which are remarkably similar. Our creation myths are very closely linked, and our beliefs in general seem to stem from the same place. It's amazing the things we have in common. Learning about the Maori culture makes me all the more proud to be Hawaiian.
There are a lot of programs and opportunities here at the uni for Maori students. There are Kaupapa Maori tutorials for each class, which are not necessarily taught in Maori, but the design of the tutorial is for students of Maori background or with extensive knowledge in the culture. There are Maori support programs, and Maori floors in the halls. My hall (College Hall) has a "Maori floor" which is exclusive to Maori students. They call themselves Hui Mai Tatou or HMT. When applying to be on these floors, students must identify what tribe (iwi) they are from and then they are placed.
After almost nearly becoming obsolete, the Maori language has become an official language of New Zealand. More of the younger generations are becoming fluent, and the language is making a big comeback. The future is bright for the success of te reo Maori.
In my psychology class, we learned about biculturalism, two cultures coexisting in one place rather than combining to form a new culture. I believe Aotearoa is a place of biculturalism. There are the Maori and there are the Pakeha. Sure, Maori people can be Pakeha and vise versa, but the cultures don't mix. The Maori culture is strong.
How does this affect me being Hawaiian? It makes me sad.
The Maori students tell me about the tribe they come from and all about their family history. I can barely tell them what island(s) my family comes from. They all engage in kapa haka and so many are interested in learning about their culture. They ask me if Hawaii still has Kings and Queens and tribes. When we go places and have to show our American passports, people give us funny looks and sometimes sly remarks. Hawaii is a part of America and I am definitely American. Maori words are a part of everyday language not just for Maoris, but for everyone.
In my Anthropology class, as my professor lectured on the excerpt from Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa's ethnography, one of my Maori friends asked me why the king would let those things happen to the land. Western culture has/had such a big influence on the Hawaiian culture.
I feel more Hawaiian here in Aotearoa than I do at home in Hawaii.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Go green!
When you go to the Warehouse (it's the same as our Walmart), they charge you 10 cents for every plastic bag you use. So, many people carry their groceries out without a bag. It really decreases the amount of plastic bags that are used!
Also, whenever you go to a takeout place, the food is served in a PLASTIC container. At home, we get the styrofoam trays or the paper plates, but here they use plastic. They look like Ziploc tupperware containers, and they are meant to be reused. The sauces come in plastic containers as well. They even charge for extra plastic forks or knives.
Talk about reduce, reuse, recycle huh?
First Week of School
Yay! We've officially completed our first week here at the uni. I'm taking four classes: Maori100, New Zealand and the Pacific (Anth), Psych102, and an Ed. course. There are about 120 in most of my classes, but my Psych class has 400! The teachers lecture for the whole hour (or two hours) and we sit there and take notes. Its really boring, and definitely not the best way to learn. However, another part of the curriculum are "tutorials." These are mandatory sessions that you sign up for once a week. The tutorials are run by grad. students studying the specific course subject, and there are about 25 students in each tutorial. Tutorials gives students the opportunity to ask questions and get clarification on things that were covered in the lecture. They are mandatory and last about 2 hours. I'm not too sure what else goes on in the tutorial; they start next week.
This is a picture of my Maori class. There are about 70 students enrolled. In this class, we learn about the language and the culture. Actually, we learn about the culture through language, if that makes sense.
I really like my Anthropology class. The professor assigned a book of readings, which has articles by Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, and a bunch of other well known Pacific activists. We discuss really interesting issues that are very relevant to the Hawaiian culture.
My other two courses are blahhh. I'm taking the Psych class for Linfield credit, and I'm taking the Ed. class to see how they teach Educational concepts compared to the States.
This week was also known as "O Week." It happens the first week of every semester, and basically during this time, the students go out EVERY NIGHT of the week. Each night is a different theme, and people get all dressed up and go to the clubs. We went out Wednesday and Thursday night and it was crazy, but so much fun! (Pictures on facebook.)
Logan will tell you about his first week at school!:
NZ is super cool! The landscape is amazing and the people are so hospitable. I've met so many new people and have made so many friends. So monday i started class at 5 pm. It is a treaty of Waitangi paper and its really interesting. Kailee is not in this paper with me but the other Hawaiians are. On the first day, we had to go around the room and do introductions. All the Hawaiians introduced themselves in Hawaiian, but I couldn't because my Hawaiian sucks, so I did the English thing. Well turns out all SEVENTY people in the class are Maori language majors so I was the only person to introduce myself in English! haha that was embarrassing moment number one. But other than that everything has been pretty good.
Kailee and I are both in this Maori 100 class that teaches us history through language. Its going to be really elementary for the first couple weeks because there are a lot of European kids in the class. I am also in the Kapa Haka class, which is really cool. I figure since I'm here that I should get the full experience, plus I thought that being in a class with mostly domestic students will boost my status with the Maori's! haha.
My 4th paper (class) is a paper I was not planning on doing, but was one of the only classes that fit in my schedule. Coincidentally, this is my favorite paper so far! It starts at 9 am on Wednesday, so I was happy that I woke up for it, but the class is amazing. My professor is originally from Holland so he has that funny accent where they use "V" sounds for "W", but he is so knowledgeable and a complete wise cracker! I forgot to mention that the class is a political science paper called "Conflicts and Crisis in the Middle East and Asia". It is so awesome.
So this past week was called Re-O, or re-orientation week! To the college kids, this means party EVERY night of the week! It has been absolutely ridiculous here. It is totally socially acceptable to drink here, especially because 18 is the legal drinking age, so the kids go all out. I'm thinking things will start slowing down from here on out.
I really like my Anthropology class. The professor assigned a book of readings, which has articles by Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, and a bunch of other well known Pacific activists. We discuss really interesting issues that are very relevant to the Hawaiian culture.
My other two courses are blahhh. I'm taking the Psych class for Linfield credit, and I'm taking the Ed. class to see how they teach Educational concepts compared to the States.
This week was also known as "O Week." It happens the first week of every semester, and basically during this time, the students go out EVERY NIGHT of the week. Each night is a different theme, and people get all dressed up and go to the clubs. We went out Wednesday and Thursday night and it was crazy, but so much fun! (Pictures on facebook.)
Logan will tell you about his first week at school!:
NZ is super cool! The landscape is amazing and the people are so hospitable. I've met so many new people and have made so many friends. So monday i started class at 5 pm. It is a treaty of Waitangi paper and its really interesting. Kailee is not in this paper with me but the other Hawaiians are. On the first day, we had to go around the room and do introductions. All the Hawaiians introduced themselves in Hawaiian, but I couldn't because my Hawaiian sucks, so I did the English thing. Well turns out all SEVENTY people in the class are Maori language majors so I was the only person to introduce myself in English! haha that was embarrassing moment number one. But other than that everything has been pretty good.
Kailee and I are both in this Maori 100 class that teaches us history through language. Its going to be really elementary for the first couple weeks because there are a lot of European kids in the class. I am also in the Kapa Haka class, which is really cool. I figure since I'm here that I should get the full experience, plus I thought that being in a class with mostly domestic students will boost my status with the Maori's! haha.
My 4th paper (class) is a paper I was not planning on doing, but was one of the only classes that fit in my schedule. Coincidentally, this is my favorite paper so far! It starts at 9 am on Wednesday, so I was happy that I woke up for it, but the class is amazing. My professor is originally from Holland so he has that funny accent where they use "V" sounds for "W", but he is so knowledgeable and a complete wise cracker! I forgot to mention that the class is a political science paper called "Conflicts and Crisis in the Middle East and Asia". It is so awesome.
So this past week was called Re-O, or re-orientation week! To the college kids, this means party EVERY night of the week! It has been absolutely ridiculous here. It is totally socially acceptable to drink here, especially because 18 is the legal drinking age, so the kids go all out. I'm thinking things will start slowing down from here on out.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
A Weekend in Auckland
Logan had the idea that we should go backpacking in Auckland for the weekend, and so we did :) The two of us and our other three friends caught the "Nakedbus" to Auckland on Friday evening. (No, fortunately you don't have to be naked to ride the bus.) We didn't know where we would be staying or what types of things we wanted to do. It was quite liberating!
The bus dropped us off in Auckland at about 8 that night. We each brought a backpack with a few days worth of clothes, some brochures, and some snacks. We had no idea where anything was, but we knew that we wanted to find some food. We walked down the street and went into the nearest hotel and asked for places where we could find some food and a place to stay. We ended up eating at a food court and it wasn't hard finding a place to stay. We found a Backpackers hostel/motel right in the middle of the city, which charged us $25 a night. We got two rooms and each room had a bunkbed, so they brought up another mattress for us.
That night we didn't do much. We walked around the city for a bit, and then went to bed at around 11, so we could get an early start the next day. We found out the hard way why the hostel was so cheap. I practically froze to death that night because there were no heaters and the blankets were paper thin. Also, the night life in Auckland doesn't start until about 1 in the morning, and when it starts, it is crazy! I woke up to people screaming and music blasting. It was ... horrible, but a good experience, I guess.
On Saturday, we ate breakfast at Burgerking because we thought it was our safest bet for a pretty good quick meal. Well, we weren't really satisfied. The hot chocolate was very bland and the crossiants and breakfast sandwiches weren't too good either.
Our first stop was the Auckland museum. We hopped on the bus, which charged us $10 for a whole day pass (unlimited hops on & off for the day.) It took us to the museum, and since we're students, we got free admission. The museum had 3 GIGANTIC floors with all different types of exhibits. There were ocean exhibits, Maori culture, warfare, WWI&II, Oceania, and a whole bunch more. We watched a Maori cultural performance for about half an hour. They performed poi balls, stick game/dances, and of course the Haka. It was amazing!
We walked around the museum for a couple hours, and then got back on the bus and stopped off at Parnell, which was a shopping/eating area. We ate sushi for lunch, which was pretty good.
At about 4ish, we went over to Skycity, the home of the Skytower. It was the tallest building in Auckland and probably New Zealand. We went up to the topmost level, which was 722 feet high. The actual tower extended much higher but we weren't able to go to the top. We could walk around in a circle and see all of Auckland. It was beautiful. People were doing the "skyjump," which is where you jump off of the Skytower from about 700 ft up in the air. It was soooooo crazy watching people practically fall from the sky. We watched the sunset from the Skytower, which was gorgeous!
After the Skytower, we went back to the hostel to show and get ready to watch the All Blacks rugby game at one of the sports bars. The All Blacks played South Africa, the previous Tri Nations Champs. We ended up at a bar near the harbor. The game was incredible! Rugby is HARDCORE. Guys were getting thrown, kicked, punched, tackled, headbutted, EVERYTHING! By the end of the game, their white shorts were covered in blood. It was so gross, but definitely worth watching! The All Blacks ended up winning, which was really exciting!
After the game, we were all pretty exhausted due to our lack of sleep the night before. BUT, it was Logan's 21 birthday the next day, so I really wanted to do something fun. We ended up going to the room and playing cards and resting for later on that night. We went down to the gaming lounge/bar at about 11 and Logan played the slots. He won $35! Happy birthday! haha. The guy who was on the machine before him won $280! It was a lucky night.
We got back to campus today about noon, and we start school tomorrow! Wish us luck!
P.S. I posted pictures on facebook. Check it out!
The bus dropped us off in Auckland at about 8 that night. We each brought a backpack with a few days worth of clothes, some brochures, and some snacks. We had no idea where anything was, but we knew that we wanted to find some food. We walked down the street and went into the nearest hotel and asked for places where we could find some food and a place to stay. We ended up eating at a food court and it wasn't hard finding a place to stay. We found a Backpackers hostel/motel right in the middle of the city, which charged us $25 a night. We got two rooms and each room had a bunkbed, so they brought up another mattress for us.
That night we didn't do much. We walked around the city for a bit, and then went to bed at around 11, so we could get an early start the next day. We found out the hard way why the hostel was so cheap. I practically froze to death that night because there were no heaters and the blankets were paper thin. Also, the night life in Auckland doesn't start until about 1 in the morning, and when it starts, it is crazy! I woke up to people screaming and music blasting. It was ... horrible, but a good experience, I guess.On Saturday, we ate breakfast at Burgerking because we thought it was our safest bet for a pretty good quick meal. Well, we weren't really satisfied. The hot chocolate was very bland and the crossiants and breakfast sandwiches weren't too good either.
Our first stop was the Auckland museum. We hopped on the bus, which charged us $10 for a whole day pass (unlimited hops on & off for the day.) It took us to the museum, and since we're students, we got free admission. The museum had 3 GIGANTIC floors with all different types of exhibits. There were ocean exhibits, Maori culture, warfare, WWI&II, Oceania, and a whole bunch more. We watched a Maori cultural performance for about half an hour. They performed poi balls, stick game/dances, and of course the Haka. It was amazing!
At about 4ish, we went over to Skycity, the home of the Skytower. It was the tallest building in Auckland and probably New Zealand. We went up to the topmost level, which was 722 feet high. The actual tower extended much higher but we weren't able to go to the top. We could walk around in a circle and see all of Auckland. It was beautiful. People were doing the "skyjump," which is where you jump off of the Skytower from about 700 ft up in the air. It was soooooo crazy watching people practically fall from the sky. We watched the sunset from the Skytower, which was gorgeous!After the Skytower, we went back to the hostel to show and get ready to watch the All Blacks rugby game at one of the sports bars. The All Blacks played South Africa, the previous Tri Nations Champs. We ended up at a bar near the harbor. The game was incredible! Rugby is HARDCORE. Guys were getting thrown, kicked, punched, tackled, headbutted, EVERYTHING! By the end of the game, their white shorts were covered in blood. It was so gross, but definitely worth watching! The All Blacks ended up winning, which was really exciting!
After the game, we were all pretty exhausted due to our lack of sleep the night before. BUT, it was Logan's 21 birthday the next day, so I really wanted to do something fun. We ended up going to the room and playing cards and resting for later on that night. We went down to the gaming lounge/bar at about 11 and Logan played the slots. He won $35! Happy birthday! haha. The guy who was on the machine before him won $280! It was a lucky night.
We got back to campus today about noon, and we start school tomorrow! Wish us luck!
P.S. I posted pictures on facebook. Check it out!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Hamilton Gardens
We all (Logan, Kamakana, Pi, Leo, and Ricky who is a boy from NZ) went to the Hamilton Gardens. We caught the bus to the transit center in town and then transefered to another bus which took us directly to the gardens. It didn't cost anything to go & there were a lot of families picnicing on the many fields throughout the place. Today was a really nice day & we walked throughout the gardens for a couple hours. There were Indian gardens, Chinese, Japanese, and a bunch of other ones. It was so beautiful!
After we got back from the gardens, we ate lunch at this place called Hell. haha. They made all different types of pizza and pasta. All the dishes had names like Lust, Serpent, etc.
Thursdays are the start of the weekend here. EVERYONE goes out on Thursday. So, we're going into town later on. We'll see what happens!
After we got back from the gardens, we ate lunch at this place called Hell. haha. They made all different types of pizza and pasta. All the dishes had names like Lust, Serpent, etc.
Thursdays are the start of the weekend here. EVERYONE goes out on Thursday. So, we're going into town later on. We'll see what happens!
ki'i ki'i ki'i!
Here's the link to some of the pictures I took so far. It's a link to an album on facebook, so if you don't have facebook, I'm not sure if you will be able to see them. It's the easiest way to upload photos though. The internet here is pretty slooooow & it costs money to download things :( but if you don't already have facebook , shame on you! haha :) But, if you know of an easier way/site for us to upload pictures for you guys, then let me know. I tried photobucket, but that took ten minutes to upload three pictures!
click me
Cheers! :)
click me
Cheers! :)
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
*I forgot to mention that we have to PAY for our internet here. They charge by gigabyte of data that we use. I have no idea how it works, so we bought the $30 a month one. Skype takes up a lot of gigabytes, but just basic things like email and facebook don't use up too much.
Golden kiwis are the BEST fruit. They're genetically engineered, but they are so good. The first time we had them was at Aunty Kim's for dinner. The outside isn't fuzzy, so you can eat it, and the inside is more yellowish and it doesn't really have a tart flavor like the other kiwi. Today, we went to a local grocery store and bought 7 golden kiwis for $1.60. Produce is really cheap in NZ because everything is locally grown.
We had our real orientation today at 10 am in the same building as the other day. It was pretty boring, but I guess that's how orientation always is. They went over basic things and introduced EVERYONE who works at Waikato International, the place where all the international students at the uni can go to. The one thing that helped me the most was when one of the faculty talked about Culture Shock. It affects everyone, and we may not even notice its affecting us. I think I'm experiencing Culture Shock already. I've been pretty tired everyday, and I've been feeling a bit sick for no reason. Logan is definitely not experiencing it YET! He wants to go all over and never wants to rest!
After orientation, they served us lunch. We had tiny tea sandwiches, sushi, and different pastries. It was really good. (*oh! so, it turns out that the food at Bryant Hall is way better than College Hall, and I believe it!) But, they call Bryant Hall "geeksville." Well, Logan is a geek who likes to eat! Perfect!
We stayed for an optional session on traveling in New Zealand. The lady who gave the lecture worked for a travel agency here in Hamilton. She overviewed 8 different excursions that we could go on. They take place on different weekends during the semester. However, they can be pretty costly.
After she was finished, one of the faculty from the uni talked about the different places we should visit. He told us the cheapest ways to travel and stay.
After the travel lecture, we walked to the warehouse and visited the local asian store. They had a bunch of different things, but we were looking for furikake, but they didn't have! The Asian lady who was working didn't even know what we were talking about!
Golden kiwis are the BEST fruit. They're genetically engineered, but they are so good. The first time we had them was at Aunty Kim's for dinner. The outside isn't fuzzy, so you can eat it, and the inside is more yellowish and it doesn't really have a tart flavor like the other kiwi. Today, we went to a local grocery store and bought 7 golden kiwis for $1.60. Produce is really cheap in NZ because everything is locally grown.
We had our real orientation today at 10 am in the same building as the other day. It was pretty boring, but I guess that's how orientation always is. They went over basic things and introduced EVERYONE who works at Waikato International, the place where all the international students at the uni can go to. The one thing that helped me the most was when one of the faculty talked about Culture Shock. It affects everyone, and we may not even notice its affecting us. I think I'm experiencing Culture Shock already. I've been pretty tired everyday, and I've been feeling a bit sick for no reason. Logan is definitely not experiencing it YET! He wants to go all over and never wants to rest!
After orientation, they served us lunch. We had tiny tea sandwiches, sushi, and different pastries. It was really good. (*oh! so, it turns out that the food at Bryant Hall is way better than College Hall, and I believe it!) But, they call Bryant Hall "geeksville." Well, Logan is a geek who likes to eat! Perfect!
We stayed for an optional session on traveling in New Zealand. The lady who gave the lecture worked for a travel agency here in Hamilton. She overviewed 8 different excursions that we could go on. They take place on different weekends during the semester. However, they can be pretty costly.
After she was finished, one of the faculty from the uni talked about the different places we should visit. He told us the cheapest ways to travel and stay.
After the travel lecture, we walked to the warehouse and visited the local asian store. They had a bunch of different things, but we were looking for furikake, but they didn't have! The Asian lady who was working didn't even know what we were talking about!
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